Asset owners, money managers and other parts of the financial sector have a critical role to play in the transition to a net-zero carbon economy.
The call to action was made Thursday by Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and finance adviser to the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Mr. Carney was speaking at an event in London to launch a private finance agenda for the upcoming conference, known as COP26, which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.
The agenda aims to help private financial institutions to support a shift to a net-zero carbon economy, with the objective that "every financial decision takes climate change into account," said a copy of Mr. Carney's speech, published on the Bank of England's website.
To move to a net-zero carbon economy, every company, bank, insurer and investor needs to adjust their business models for a low-carbon world, he said.
The agenda outlines a number of tasks for the private sector to work toward in order to achieve the COP26 objective. These include refining climate-related financial disclosure to increase the quality and quantity of reporting; reaching agreement on metrics to measure net-zero/alignment of investment portfolios; and working to promote the "most promising and impactful financial innovations in sustainable finance," such as transition bonds.
